Television from Last Week: House, Dirty Sexy Money, CSI, Moonlight, and SGA
Okay, so I kept meaning to write up my reviews for shows. Never got around to it, and now I just can't summon up the interest in more than a handful of them. I will do better this week, I promise. A Heroes review is coming later today (Just as soon as I watch it). Also, I still need to watch my taped Criminal Minds and CSI NY for last week (and Criminal Minds from the week before that) and depending on how much I care after I see them there may be reviews for that that.
House: Ugly 4x07
Written by Sean Whitesell
So, I liked this episode, but I'm not in love with it. The case was less interesting than usual, and with extraordinarily rare exceptions, the whole shooting a documentary thing just didn't work for me. It was a distraction and it's kind of overdone. Also, I felt like they were trying to bludgeon us over the head with the observation that people act differently when they know there's a camera. The other stuff was great, all the parts that weren't about the medicine, but were about how House relates to other people.
You'll never know how much I love the bit where Wilson is talking to the documentary people. First, the story he's making up is just outrageously amusing. Especially the part about House being Wiccan. That nearly killed me. But it's just made better when House comes in and tells them to leave, that they get access to the case, "Not my fave five." It was cute.
While I'm a little annoyed at the whole idea that House gets stupid around a pretty girl, they played it well. She makes idiot suggestions and he doesn't notice. I love that at some point he becomes aware of that, and deflects to Foreman, who is clearly confused about why House is suddenly not taking the cheap shot at the employee. Of course the best part to come out of all of this is the conversation House has with Wilson. This is nowhere near exact, but it's something like this and won for line of the night from me.
House: Foreman doesn't turn into an idiot around her. Do you think he's gay?
Wilson: Did he turn into an idiot around Chase?
Because everybody knows that Chase is the prettiest boy at the hospital. And there was when House said that Cameron was smart and Wilson said he was beginning to wonder. I liked that bit too.
Cameron was vaguely amusing in her little defensive freak-out after she inadvertently says she loves House to the camera crew. More amusing is when she's practicing her clarification in front of the mirror. Chase seems fairly unconcerned given that she's clearly not as over House as she likes to pretend. Not that he's ever been particularly confrontational, but I'd expect some kind of annoyance at the very least from him. Instead he looked vaguely amused as well.
Then there was House finally figuring out why Plastic Surgeon guy was trying to become diagnostic guy. That was alright. It would have been better if I cared about the character at all, but still it was a reasonably nice storyline.
And the thing that made the whole Documentary subplot worth it was the end, when they're watching it. That was certainly some creative editing. They managed to make House look like a genuinely nice, caring person.
I believe there are 4 or 5 episodes remaining before they're out of scripts.
Dirty Sexy Money: The Wedding 1x07
Sadly, I couldn't find a writing credit for this episode. I'll have to start writing them down when I watch.
Not my favorite episode of this show, but still good. I'm very much looking forward to this week's episode.
The twins didn't have much story in this episode. Just Juliet being friends with Natalie again. I think it's cute how it was Juliet telling Jeremy that she just wants something, and now they've completely switched roles. I don't think that Natalie is really a bad person though, I think she honestly believed she was pregnant when she said it to Jeremy. Then I think she just let him keep believing it, and I can understand that. She should have told him when she knew it wasn't true, but I get why she didn't, and I don't think it was to get her hands on the Darling money.
Brian is actually getting to be one of my favorite characters. I was surprised when Brian Jr.'s mother showed up. I wasn't surprised when they slept together. And I wasn't really surprised when she told him that she was taking Brian Jr. with her, to Brazil. I suspect that Brian will be setting Nick on her, demanding that they share custody. I hope he gets it. I think it will be easy to say he's just fighting because he's lost too much to give up without a fight, but I do think that he's starting building a genuine relationship with his son. He doesn't know how to deal with people, not even his own children, but he's trying. He's learning. That must be why I like him. He's the socially inept one of the bunch, and I love the socially inept characters on just about any show.
Patrick's association with Simon Elder is finally coming to light. I wonder how much of that is honest conviction, how much is simple expediency, and how much of it is just supposed to piss his father off. I think all three motivations are there. I thought that things played out just right with his wife. She married a Darling, and she might have married for love, but she married for money and power as well. So, if he can't give the mistress up, then they have to sit down and set some ground rules. Because she's not giving up her place in his life, and she's not letting him ruin his career. And I'm really interested in just what Simon Elder is up to. He's who let Patrick's wife know about Carmelita.
Which brings us to the big story of the week, Karen. Karen is possibly my least favorite of the Darling kids, and that's probably why this week wasn't my favorite. I could have done without most of the pre-wedding jitters stuff, but the actual wedding itself was wonderful. Trip and Karen were incredibly sweet, even with the knowledge that Trip is drunk and he's said it all before. Brian's words were very nice. The aftermath was perfect. I can absolutely see that she'd be willing to stay married to him as long as she thought he was just in it for the money. It was okay then, because she didn't really love him completely either. He had to go and ruin things by telling her he'd fallen in love with her. She couldn't do that. So the wedding was annulled a few hours after it was complete. Freddie took a very large check and said some nasty but probably true things before he left. Then there was the whole scene with her and Nick. I think the tough thing here is that while Nick loves his wife and isn't about to leave her for Karen, there's a part of him that really never did get over Karen. He loves her just a little still, which makes this all very difficult. And, I think that's why his wife is so incredibly jealous every time he does anything with Karen, she knows it too. Poor Nick, now that Letitia has promised to help Karen pursue him I'm not sure what his days are going to look like. I believe there are 5 episodes left.
CSI: Goodbye and Good Luck 8x07
Written by Allen MacDonald and Sarah Goldfinger
I liked this episode, and not just because we got rid of Sara (who I've never liked well and have found increasingly annoying in recent years). I thought Hannah was one of the creepier characters from previous episodes, even if she didn't commit the first murder. Her brother seems almost like a toy for her to play with and nothing more.
I thought it was predictable, but still good. I guessed as soon as we were reminded of Hannah that she had killed the girl, and set her brother up. I also had a pretty good idea of why. I have to wonder just what happened to her parents. If we found out I missed it somehow.
I imagine that her life is pretty tough. She's a genius, and that's taken her a long way, but she certainly doesn't fit in with the other students she takes classes with. She's not a Teaching Assistant, and frankly they have enough trouble getting respect without being 4' tall and what, thirteen or so. She's not going to jail, they don't have the evidence, and I doubt even now that she'll offer up a confession, but that her brother is dead just might be enough punishment.
I can't say that I'm sorry that Sara is gone, but I am glad that they gave her a good reason for going. She's burnt out. She can't handle this job, this life, or this town anymore. I thought leaving Grissom a letter instead of telling him she was going was not a very nice thing to do, but maybe understandable. No idea how many episodes of this are left.
Moonlight: 12:04 AM 1x08
Written by Jill Blotevogel
No Josef in this episode, which I find incredibly annoying. It was reasonably good though. I liked it despite the lack of Josef. I thought the bad guy was mostly annoying, but the character interactions were good. Beth proved herself to be part of the long history of female leads who can't do what they're told. I wasn't surprised though, and actually was kind of glad that she realized that he saved her all those years ago. Still a little iffy about the Beth/Mick relationship, but I liked it better here.
I liked the girl, the victim, and I hope she can find a little peace now. I really just don't have much else to say about this episode. 4 episodes left, I believe.
Stargate Atlantis: The Seer 4x08
Written by Andy McCullough
I wasn't overwhelmed with love for this episode, but it was a good solid entry for the season. I liked Rodney's skepticism, and his later understanding that while seeing an exact future is unlikely seeing probable futures is much easier to believe. I thought he was underused in this episode, but good when he was there. I thought his guilt over activating that part of the base code was a nice touch, along with Sheppard's usual affirmation that it was his decision. He's so responsible.
The visions themselves were outrageusly vague. The plot was interesting though. It makes sense to me that one of the ways the Replicators would fight the Wraith is to kill off the other humans in the galaxy. The Ancients weren't the best people in the world, and they might have even seen this as an acceptable risk to get rid of the wraith entirely, they after all were protected by the replicator base code that prevented them from attacking Atlantis and her people. Nobody has that protection now, and so they're killing off likely targets of culling, starving the wraith out. Nasty, but effective.
I'm amused that the Wraith who helped Sheppard escape the Genii thinks of asking him for help. It's not a bad plan. This is something that they both want stopped, after all. Their caution is entirely understandable as are the actions of the Wraith.
Woolsey trying to take over was kind of funny, but I really thought he'd grown more than that with his last trip to Atlantis. It was perfectly clear to me that they were going to shoot at each other when the two Wraith ships started charging weapons. So now, Rodney has to finish the virus, hopefully that will go smoothly, and they can settle the replicators back into their previous general unconcern about the Wraith. What's going to happen to the Wraith? His ship's been blown up, and I assume from the way he was talking, that was it in terms of what he had for followers. They almost can't afford to let him go. Without followers, even the virus might not be enough to secure him a place, but Atlantis would be. I'm concerned.
Oh, and just not much carrying about Teyla and her baby. That's bad, because I really do like Teyla and I feel as if I should care about the baby. I just don't.
House: Ugly 4x07
Written by Sean Whitesell
So, I liked this episode, but I'm not in love with it. The case was less interesting than usual, and with extraordinarily rare exceptions, the whole shooting a documentary thing just didn't work for me. It was a distraction and it's kind of overdone. Also, I felt like they were trying to bludgeon us over the head with the observation that people act differently when they know there's a camera. The other stuff was great, all the parts that weren't about the medicine, but were about how House relates to other people.
You'll never know how much I love the bit where Wilson is talking to the documentary people. First, the story he's making up is just outrageously amusing. Especially the part about House being Wiccan. That nearly killed me. But it's just made better when House comes in and tells them to leave, that they get access to the case, "Not my fave five." It was cute.
While I'm a little annoyed at the whole idea that House gets stupid around a pretty girl, they played it well. She makes idiot suggestions and he doesn't notice. I love that at some point he becomes aware of that, and deflects to Foreman, who is clearly confused about why House is suddenly not taking the cheap shot at the employee. Of course the best part to come out of all of this is the conversation House has with Wilson. This is nowhere near exact, but it's something like this and won for line of the night from me.
House: Foreman doesn't turn into an idiot around her. Do you think he's gay?
Wilson: Did he turn into an idiot around Chase?
Because everybody knows that Chase is the prettiest boy at the hospital. And there was when House said that Cameron was smart and Wilson said he was beginning to wonder. I liked that bit too.
Cameron was vaguely amusing in her little defensive freak-out after she inadvertently says she loves House to the camera crew. More amusing is when she's practicing her clarification in front of the mirror. Chase seems fairly unconcerned given that she's clearly not as over House as she likes to pretend. Not that he's ever been particularly confrontational, but I'd expect some kind of annoyance at the very least from him. Instead he looked vaguely amused as well.
Then there was House finally figuring out why Plastic Surgeon guy was trying to become diagnostic guy. That was alright. It would have been better if I cared about the character at all, but still it was a reasonably nice storyline.
And the thing that made the whole Documentary subplot worth it was the end, when they're watching it. That was certainly some creative editing. They managed to make House look like a genuinely nice, caring person.
I believe there are 4 or 5 episodes remaining before they're out of scripts.
Dirty Sexy Money: The Wedding 1x07
Sadly, I couldn't find a writing credit for this episode. I'll have to start writing them down when I watch.
Not my favorite episode of this show, but still good. I'm very much looking forward to this week's episode.
The twins didn't have much story in this episode. Just Juliet being friends with Natalie again. I think it's cute how it was Juliet telling Jeremy that she just wants something, and now they've completely switched roles. I don't think that Natalie is really a bad person though, I think she honestly believed she was pregnant when she said it to Jeremy. Then I think she just let him keep believing it, and I can understand that. She should have told him when she knew it wasn't true, but I get why she didn't, and I don't think it was to get her hands on the Darling money.
Brian is actually getting to be one of my favorite characters. I was surprised when Brian Jr.'s mother showed up. I wasn't surprised when they slept together. And I wasn't really surprised when she told him that she was taking Brian Jr. with her, to Brazil. I suspect that Brian will be setting Nick on her, demanding that they share custody. I hope he gets it. I think it will be easy to say he's just fighting because he's lost too much to give up without a fight, but I do think that he's starting building a genuine relationship with his son. He doesn't know how to deal with people, not even his own children, but he's trying. He's learning. That must be why I like him. He's the socially inept one of the bunch, and I love the socially inept characters on just about any show.
Patrick's association with Simon Elder is finally coming to light. I wonder how much of that is honest conviction, how much is simple expediency, and how much of it is just supposed to piss his father off. I think all three motivations are there. I thought that things played out just right with his wife. She married a Darling, and she might have married for love, but she married for money and power as well. So, if he can't give the mistress up, then they have to sit down and set some ground rules. Because she's not giving up her place in his life, and she's not letting him ruin his career. And I'm really interested in just what Simon Elder is up to. He's who let Patrick's wife know about Carmelita.
Which brings us to the big story of the week, Karen. Karen is possibly my least favorite of the Darling kids, and that's probably why this week wasn't my favorite. I could have done without most of the pre-wedding jitters stuff, but the actual wedding itself was wonderful. Trip and Karen were incredibly sweet, even with the knowledge that Trip is drunk and he's said it all before. Brian's words were very nice. The aftermath was perfect. I can absolutely see that she'd be willing to stay married to him as long as she thought he was just in it for the money. It was okay then, because she didn't really love him completely either. He had to go and ruin things by telling her he'd fallen in love with her. She couldn't do that. So the wedding was annulled a few hours after it was complete. Freddie took a very large check and said some nasty but probably true things before he left. Then there was the whole scene with her and Nick. I think the tough thing here is that while Nick loves his wife and isn't about to leave her for Karen, there's a part of him that really never did get over Karen. He loves her just a little still, which makes this all very difficult. And, I think that's why his wife is so incredibly jealous every time he does anything with Karen, she knows it too. Poor Nick, now that Letitia has promised to help Karen pursue him I'm not sure what his days are going to look like. I believe there are 5 episodes left.
CSI: Goodbye and Good Luck 8x07
Written by Allen MacDonald and Sarah Goldfinger
I liked this episode, and not just because we got rid of Sara (who I've never liked well and have found increasingly annoying in recent years). I thought Hannah was one of the creepier characters from previous episodes, even if she didn't commit the first murder. Her brother seems almost like a toy for her to play with and nothing more.
I thought it was predictable, but still good. I guessed as soon as we were reminded of Hannah that she had killed the girl, and set her brother up. I also had a pretty good idea of why. I have to wonder just what happened to her parents. If we found out I missed it somehow.
I imagine that her life is pretty tough. She's a genius, and that's taken her a long way, but she certainly doesn't fit in with the other students she takes classes with. She's not a Teaching Assistant, and frankly they have enough trouble getting respect without being 4' tall and what, thirteen or so. She's not going to jail, they don't have the evidence, and I doubt even now that she'll offer up a confession, but that her brother is dead just might be enough punishment.
I can't say that I'm sorry that Sara is gone, but I am glad that they gave her a good reason for going. She's burnt out. She can't handle this job, this life, or this town anymore. I thought leaving Grissom a letter instead of telling him she was going was not a very nice thing to do, but maybe understandable. No idea how many episodes of this are left.
Moonlight: 12:04 AM 1x08
Written by Jill Blotevogel
No Josef in this episode, which I find incredibly annoying. It was reasonably good though. I liked it despite the lack of Josef. I thought the bad guy was mostly annoying, but the character interactions were good. Beth proved herself to be part of the long history of female leads who can't do what they're told. I wasn't surprised though, and actually was kind of glad that she realized that he saved her all those years ago. Still a little iffy about the Beth/Mick relationship, but I liked it better here.
I liked the girl, the victim, and I hope she can find a little peace now. I really just don't have much else to say about this episode. 4 episodes left, I believe.
Stargate Atlantis: The Seer 4x08
Written by Andy McCullough
I wasn't overwhelmed with love for this episode, but it was a good solid entry for the season. I liked Rodney's skepticism, and his later understanding that while seeing an exact future is unlikely seeing probable futures is much easier to believe. I thought he was underused in this episode, but good when he was there. I thought his guilt over activating that part of the base code was a nice touch, along with Sheppard's usual affirmation that it was his decision. He's so responsible.
The visions themselves were outrageusly vague. The plot was interesting though. It makes sense to me that one of the ways the Replicators would fight the Wraith is to kill off the other humans in the galaxy. The Ancients weren't the best people in the world, and they might have even seen this as an acceptable risk to get rid of the wraith entirely, they after all were protected by the replicator base code that prevented them from attacking Atlantis and her people. Nobody has that protection now, and so they're killing off likely targets of culling, starving the wraith out. Nasty, but effective.
I'm amused that the Wraith who helped Sheppard escape the Genii thinks of asking him for help. It's not a bad plan. This is something that they both want stopped, after all. Their caution is entirely understandable as are the actions of the Wraith.
Woolsey trying to take over was kind of funny, but I really thought he'd grown more than that with his last trip to Atlantis. It was perfectly clear to me that they were going to shoot at each other when the two Wraith ships started charging weapons. So now, Rodney has to finish the virus, hopefully that will go smoothly, and they can settle the replicators back into their previous general unconcern about the Wraith. What's going to happen to the Wraith? His ship's been blown up, and I assume from the way he was talking, that was it in terms of what he had for followers. They almost can't afford to let him go. Without followers, even the virus might not be enough to secure him a place, but Atlantis would be. I'm concerned.
Oh, and just not much carrying about Teyla and her baby. That's bad, because I really do like Teyla and I feel as if I should care about the baby. I just don't.